AES Vienna 2007

Compressor Boys versus Kaiserschmarrn

Well, and just when we had packed all that Musikmesse stuff out of the cases and back into the shelves, it was time to get everything out again and back into the car. The AES was calling, and of course we followed. After approximately 1,000 kilometers of continuous driving, we arrived in Vienna in a fresh and relaxed state...

...which is not true at all, of course. Our faces very much more looked like this crumpled poster that colorfully announced the event which the following article is all about: the AES in Vienna's Austria Center from May 5th to 8th 2007 - booth number 2129. Of course the established trio with Tonelux and Empirical Labs was completed again for this nice occasion!

For the first time in history as a true double feature: the almost production-ready mpressor is enthroned on top of our flagship, the alpha compressor. Strange world, isn't it? Anyway, our youngest scion would have handled the alphas weight class easily. And finally there is an alternative for everyone who is not into blue LEDs so much.

One good thing about the AES is that you always meet again old friends! Here we see Ruben with Ronald Prent who practices his ingenious work in the Belgian Galaxy Studios. In his own words: "It's a pity, because it is so good. It seems that I cannot help buying one..." We're really awfully sorry for it, Ronald!

Interestingly, Peter Schmidt of Ballsaal Studio in Berlin said something very similar only a few moments later. Again, there was the proof that the mpressor has got to have something infectious about it - gearfreaks better watch out! Also very obvious: Dominik badly needs some time in the sun, Peter and Ruben don't.

And here we have the French Connection, worthily represented by Olivier Bolling of Alternate Soundings. Just as us, Olivier goes into the second round with his Dynax2, which really has come out as a fine product. But as one can see, playing around with our stuff is also giving him quite some pleasure...

Continued by a short interruption of the mpressor promotion for switching to the obligatory Gearslutz dinner. While the ladies in the background produce loads of smoke and noise, Stefan Heger of Dangerous Music and Pino Pischetola from Milan rave about a nice meal of about 50 pounds of spare ribs. Enjoy it, guys!

Men in blue - Tim Farrant of Buzz Audio and Jules Standen of the Gearslutz forum. I keep asking myself all the time: What the hell is Tim doing there? Giving a high five to the photographer? Or is he ordering beer for Jules? But Mr. Standen only wanted one ... or does his thumb up indicate full approval of Tim's order? Nobody knows.

Back to what happened at the show: After twelve hours of digestion-sleep, Pino appeared to perform the ultimate elysia test. But no! The truth is that he had given away at least half of his abundant meal to the ever-craving gearslutz. And he had no problem at all with burning the remaining calories while turning the knobs of our gear perfectly in form.

Doctor Jules, while carrying out a close examination of the mpressor. The preliminary result: the patient is in good health, if not to say as fresh as a daisy. It does not seem problematic to further expose him to the hectic trade show bustle, as there is no danger of provoking the slightest damage by doing so. And the doc wishes the patient all the best only!

"This thing makes me smile" says Hutch Hutchinson of Manley Labs while playing with the mpressor. This means a lot to us, as we appreciate his opinion very much. And on top of it, elysia No. 2 was developed precisely for that reason: pushing the fun factor by using compression into unknown heights. Seems to fit!

A beautiful shot that you will take only once in a lifetime: Evanna Manley uses the alpha compressor to perform that famous glowing fingertip trick courtesy of E.T. in ultimate perfection. After that, she also let our equipment disappear into a parallel dimension for a while. Unfortunately, the film was completely exposed by then :-(

Bo Medin, our friend from Sweden! If you're looking for top notch compression up in the high north, Golden Age Music is the place to go to. Bo is an old hand in the industry, and we meet him at every trade show and exchange the funny stories each time (for example the one about that specialist modifying an alpha compressor with the greatest effort - to death :-)

No trade show without the Gilmeister! Gil Griffith from Wave Distribution enjoys his well-deserved closing time beer after an exhausting business day. Although he obviously enjoys it, he respectably banned the label to the side of the picture in order to prevent nasty product placement. Because that is only allowed for certain compressors!

And because third time is a charm, here comes number three in the distribution network: Andreas Michel of Flyline Music in Switzerland! His statement to this self-made photo: "The size of the file should make it fine for printing, but when I look at our two beer faces, I don't think that this would be a good idea..." No comment.

Ok, and now everybody who is still reading this will be given very special insider information as a reward: In this way the chaotic elysians consign their high end equipment from one trade show to the other! Transport like the pros, no doubt about it. By the way, never hesitate to contact us: we always have an open door for you...